Suction nozzle



May 26, 1964 A. B. CAMPBELL SUCTION NOZZLE Filed Feb. 23, 1962 UnitedStates Patent 3,134,128 SUCTION NUZZLE Albert ll. Campbell, len Ellyn,Ill., assignor to Campbell Products Company, Bensenville, Ill., acorporation of Illinois Filed Feb. 23, 1962, Ser. No. 175,699 Claims.(Cl. 15-422) The present invention relates generally to multi-partsuction nozzles, and more particularly to a multi-part nozzle for usewith a suction-actuated scalp-cleaning apparatus such as that shown inthe present inventors application Serial No. 151,337, filed November 9,1961.

In use the subject nozzle is connected by a conduit to suction-impartingmeans, and is utilized by a barber or hairdresser to clean the hair andscalp of a person whose hair has just been cut. This eliminates theannoying subsequent accumulation of loose bits of hair, dandruff, etc.on the shoulders and neck of the person whose hair has been cut, andwithout employing a hair-washing operation. The subject nozzle may alsobe used advantageously to remove such bits of hair, etc. which fall onthe eck and shoulders during cutting.

Because a nozzle of this type is utilized several times daily andbecause each of the several daily uses is on the scalp of a differentperson, the nozzle must be thoroughly cleaned, both inside and out,before each use. In order for the nozzle to be thoroughly cleaned inaccordance with hygienic standards, all of the surfaces of the nozzle,both inside and out, must be readily accessible to cleaning solutionsand equipment.

Accessibility to the interior surfaces of an ordinary one-piece nozzleis difiicult. In the instant invention, the necessary accessibility isprovided by constructing the nozzle of several readily divisible parts,all surfaces of which, both inside and out, are readily accessible forcleaning when disassembled.

Because pre-cleaning disassembly and post-cleaning assembly must beperformed several times a day, and to prevent the disassembly andassembly operations from consuming too much time, the multi-part nozzleof the present invention is provided with means Which render the nozzlecapable of disassembly substantially instantaneously, and capable ofassembly almost as fast. The nozzle of the instant invention isconstructed so that merely by grasping the nozzle at opposite endsthereof and imparting a slight pulling force, the nozzle will becomeseparated into three discrete parts. The post-cleaning assemblyoperation, equally as simple and nearly as fast, will be describedsubsequently.

Other features and advantages are inherent in the structure claimed anddisclosed, or will become apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing detailed description in conjunction with the accompanyingdiagrammatic drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of amulti-part suction nozzle, constructed in accordance with the presentinvention, being used in a scalpcleaning operation;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the subject nozzle in anassembled condition;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged, exploded perspective view of the nozzle ofFIGURE 2, illustrating the nozzle in a disassembled condition;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view, partially broken away and partiallyin section, of the nozzle of FIG- URES 2 and 3;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along line 55 in FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along line 66 in FIGURE 2.

Referring initially to FIGURE 1, there is shown an 3,134,128 PatentedMay 26, 1964 embodiment 10 of a multi-part suction nozzle constructed inaccordance with the present invention, and utilized for cleaning thescalp 11 of a person 12. Nozzle 10 is connected by a conduit 13 tosuction-imparting means such as that shown in the present inventorsapplication Serial No. 151,337, filed November 9, 1961.

Referring to FIGURES 2 to 6, the subject nozzle is shown to comprisethree parts, a pair of wall means 20, 21, engageable to define a hollowinterior, and collar means 22. When these three parts are assembled, thenozzle has the configuration illustrated in FIGURE 2. To disassemble thethree parts, preparatory to cleaning the interior and exterior of thenozzle, collar means 22 is grasped in one hand, and the two wall means20, 21 are grasped in the other hand, and the two hands are pulled apartin opposite directions along the longitudinal axis 51 of the nozzle.This results in an instantaneous disassembly into the three separateparts, as illustrated in FIGURE 3.

Collar means 22 is substantially cylindrical in crosssection andterminates at a rearwardly extending narrower portion 45 for connectionto conduit 13. Each of the two wall means 20, 21 is substantiallyidentical and includes semi-circular rear portions 24, 25 respectively,which, when the wall means are assembled, define a nozzle rear portionopen at the rear. Each wall means 20, 21 additionally comprisesdiverging side surfaces 26, 27 and 28, 29 respectively, said surfacesdiverging from the rear portions 24, 25 of their respective wall means.Also extending from the rear portions of the wall means are slopingsurfaces 30, 31 on wall means 20, 21 respectively. Sloping surfaces 30,31 terminate at a plurality of angularly extending front portions 36, 37separated by notches 32, 33 respectively. Notch means 32, 33 andangularly extending portions 36, 37 cooperate to define suction openingsat the forward end of the nozzle when wall means 20, 21 are assembled asshown in FIGURE 2. Each of the wall means 20, 21 includes matchingperipheral edge means 34, 35, respectively, each of which engages theother when wall means 20, 21 are assembled.

Located on wall means 21 at opposite ends of notches 33 are pin means40a and socket means 41a; and located on wall means 20 at opposite endsof notches 32 are pin means 40 for reception Within socket means 41a andsocket means (not shown) for receiving pin means 40a when the wall means20, 21 are assembled. The pin and socket means prevent movement ofengaged wall means 20, 21 in the direction of the longitudinal axis ofthe nozzle, as well as in a direction transverse to both thelongitudinal axis of the nozzle and the axis of the pin means. Collarmeans 22 peripherally engages the semicircular tubular rear portions 24,25 or both wall means 20, 21 when the latter two are engaged, andprevents movement of the engaged wall means in a direction transverse tothe longitudinal axis of the nozzle.

To further facilitate accessibility to the interior surface portions ofthe nozzle, wall means 20, 21 are each provided with a cross-section,taken transverse to the longitudinal axis of the nozzle and at anylocation along the respective wall means, which is less than thecomplete cross-section of the assembled nozzle taken at the samelocation. This feature is provided because merely making the nozzle outof several divisible parts will not, alone, facilitate access tointerior surface portions of the nozzle if the divisible part has across-section the same as the entire cross-section of the nozzle, and ifthis cross-section is relatively narrow in any given direction. Forexample, the cross-section of the assembled nozzle adjacent the suctionopenings is relatively narrow in the direction of the arrow 50 in FIGURE2, and access to the interior surface portions of the assembled nozzleat this location is difficult. On the other hand, access at this samelocation,

to a divisible part (e.g. wall means 20 or 21) having a cross-sectionless than that of the assembled nozzle, is relatively easy.

When the nozzle is in the assembled condition shown in FIGURE 2, itcomprises a diverging first pair of sides defined by wall means surfaces26, 28 and 27, 29; a converging second pair of sides defined by wallmeans surfaces 30, 31; a substantially tubular rear portion defined bywall means portions 24, 25; and frontal suction openings defined bynotches 32, 33 and depending portions 36, 37. Each pin means and eachsocket means is located adjacent the most divergent portion of arespective one of said first pair of sides, and adjacent the mostconvergent portion of a respective one of said second pair of sides.

The wall means is relatively thick at the locations of the pin means andthe socket means and is substantially thinner along the entire remainderof the wall means in comparison to the thickness at the locations of thepin means and the socket means.

All parts 20, 21 and 22 of nozzle 10 may be composed of a non-rustingmetallic material (e.g. stainless or plated steel) or of synthetic resinsuch as extrusion molded thermoplastic resins exemplified by Lucite (amethyl methacrylate polymer made by E. I. du Pont de Nemours andCompany, Wilmington, Delaware), nylon (a longchain synthetic polymericamide having recurring amide groups as an integral part of the mainpolymer chain), and Styron 475 (a high impact polystyrene made by DowChemical Company, Midland, Michigan); these specific resins are capableof being cleaned in 30% formaldehyde without adverse effects.

Following a scalp-cleaning operation, the nozzle 10 is readilydisassembled by pulling collar means 22 and wall means 20, 21 apart inopposite directions. Each of the three separate discrete parts is thenwashed, all of the surfaces of each part, both inside and out, beingreadily accessible for cleaning. The three parts are then readilyassembled merely by engaging the pins 40 in the sockets 41 and slippingcollar 22 over the engaging tubular semicircular rear portions 24, 25.Thus the disassembly operation is substantially instantaneous, and theassembly operation is nearly as fast.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. A three-part suction nozzle comprising:

first and second Wall means engageable to define a hollow interior; eachof said wall means having a cross-section, transverse to thelongitudinal axis of the nozzle, less than the cross-section of thenozzle at the same location;

said wall means, when engaged, defining a substantially tubular nozzlerear portion open at the rear;

means for preventing movement of said engaged wall means in alldirections transverse to the longitudinal axis of the nozzle andconsisting essentially of collar means slidably engaging the peripheryof said nozzle rear portion;

said wall means, when engaged, defining at least one suction opening atthe forward end of the nozzle; pin means at the forward end of one ofthe Wall means and to one side of said suction opening; socket means onthe other wall means for receiving said pin means, when the wall meansare engaged, and for preventing movement of the engaged wall means inthe direction of the longitudinal axis of the nozzle;

said wall means being relatively thick at the locations of said pinmeans and said socket means and being substantially thinner along theentire remainder thereof in comparison to the thickness at saidlocations of the pin means and the socket means;

and means for connecting said nozzle to a conduit.

2. A three-part suction nozzle for a suction-actuated scalp-cleaningapparatus, said nozzle comprising:

first and second Wall means engageable to define a hollow interior;

each of said wall means having a cross-section, taken transverse to thelongitudinal axis of the nozzle and at any location along the wallmeans, less than the cross-section of the nozzle at the same location;

each of said wall means having peripheral edge means engageable withperipheral edge means on the other wall means;

said wall means including means for defining a substantially tubularnozzle rear portion open at the rear, when the Wall means are engaged;

means for preventing movement of said engaged wall means in alldirections transverse to the longitudinal axis of the nozzle andconsisting essentially of collar means slidably engaging the peripheryof said nozzle rear portion;

said wall means including means for defining suction opening means atthe forward end of the nozzle, when the wall means are engaged;

pin means and socket means at the forward end of one of the wall meansand at opposite sides of said suction opening means;

socket means and pin means on the other wall means each for engaging arespective one of said pin means and socket means on the one wall means,when the wall means are engaged, and for preventing movement of theengaged wall means in the direction of the longitudinal axis of thenozzle;

said engaged wall means defining a nozzle portion, integral with saidnozzle rear portion, and having a diverging first pair of sides and aconverging second pair of sides;

each of said pin means and each of said socket means being locatedadjacent the most divergent portion of a respective one of said firstpair of sides, and adjacent the most convergent portion of a respectiveone of said second pair of sides;

said wall means being relatively thick at the locations of said pinmeans and said socket means and being substantially thinner along theentire remainder thereof in comparison to the thickness thereof at saidlocations of the pin means and the socket means;

and means for connecting said nozzle to a conduit.

3. A three-part suction nozzle comprising:

first and second wall means engageable to define a hollow interior;

each of said wall means having a cross-section, taken transverse to thelongitudinal axis of the nozzle and at any location along the wallmeans, less than the cross-section of the nozzle at the same location;

each of said wall means having peripheral edge means engageable withperipheral edge means on the other wall means;

the rear portions of said wall means, when engaged, de-

fining a substantially tubular nozzle rear portion open at the rear;

means for preventing movement of said engaged wall means in alldirections transverse to the longitudinal axis of the nozzle andconsisting essentially of collar means slidably engaging the peripheryof said nozzle rear portion;

the front portions of said wall means, when engaged, defining notchedsuction openings at the forward end of the nozzle;

pin means and socket means at the forward end of one of the wall meansand at opposite sides of said notched suction openings;

socket means and pin means on the other wall means each for engaging arespective one of said pin means and socket means on the one wall means,when the wall means are engaged, and for preventing movement of theengaged wall means in the direction of the longitudinal axis of thenozzle, and in a direction transverse to both said nozzle axis and theaxis of said pins;

each of said wall means comprising a pair of diverging surfacesextending from the rear portion of the wall means and defined by saidperipheral edge means on one side and by a sloping surface, extendingbetween said diverging surfaces, on the other side;

said sloping surface extending from said rear portion of the wall meansand terminating at said notched suction openings;

said wall means being relatively thick at the locations of said pinmeans and said socket means and being substantially thinner along theentire remainder thereof in comparison to the thickness thereof at saidlocations of the pin means and the socket means;

and means for connecting said nozzle to a conduit.

4. A suction nozzle comprising:

first and second wall means engageable to define a hollow interior;

each of said wall means having a cross-section, transverse to thelongitudinal axis of the nozzle, less than the cross-section of thenozzle at the same location;

said wall means, when engaged, defining a substantially tubular nozzlerear portion open at the rear;

collar means engaging the periphery of said nozzle rear portion toprevent movement of said engaged wall means in a direction transverse tothe longitudinal axis of the nozzle;

said wall means, when engaged, defining at least one suction opening atthe forward end of the nozzle;

pin means on one of the wall means, forwardly of the nozzle rearportion;

socket means on the other wall means for receiving said pin means, whenthe wall means are engaged, and for preventing movement of the engagedwall means in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the nozzle;

said wall means being relatively thick at the location of said pin meansand said socket means and being substantially thinner along the entireremainder thereof in comparison to the thickness of the wall means atsaid locations of the pin means and the socket means.

5. A suction nozzle as recited in claim 4 wherein said pin means islocated at the forward end of said one 20 wall means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

4. A SUCTION NOZZLE COMPRISING: FIRST AND SECOND WALL MEANS ENGAGEABLETO DEFINE A HOLLOW INTERIOR; EACH OF SAID WALL MEANS HAVING ACROSS-SECTION, TRANSVERSE TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE NOZZLE, LESSTHAN THE CROSS-SECTION OF THE NOZZLE AT THE SAME LOCATION; SAID WALLMEANS, WHEN ENGAGED, DEFINING A SUBSTANTIALLY TUBULAR NOZZLE REARPORTION OPEN AT THE REAR; COLLAR MEANS ENGAGING THE PERIPHERY OF SAIDNOZZLE REAR PORTION TO PREVENT MOVEMENT OF SAID ENGAGED WALL MEANS IN ADIRECTION TRANSVERSE TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE NOZZLE; SAID WALLMEANS, WHEN ENGAGED, DEFINING AT LEAST ONE SUCTION OPENING AT THEFORWARD END OF THE NOZZLE; PIN MEANS ON ONE OF THE WALL MEANS, FORWARDLYOF THE NOZZLE REAR PORTION; SOCKET MEANS ON THE OTHER WALL MEANS FORRECEIVING SAID PIN MEANS, WHEN THE WALL MEANS ARE ENGAGED, AND FORPREVENTING MOVEMENT OF THE ENGAGED WALL MEANS IN THE DIRECTION OF THELONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE NOZZLE; SAID WALL MEANS BEING RELATIVELY THICKAT THE LOCATION OF SAID PIN MEANS AND SAID SOCKET MEANS AND BEINGSUBSTANTIALLY THINNER ALONG THE ENTIRE REMAINDER THEREOF IN COMPARISONTO THE THICKNESS OF THE WALL MEANS AT SAID LOCATIONS OF THE PIN MEANSAND THE SOCKET MEANS.